Conclusions

Abstract

It is not advisable to study any form of creative activity without taking into account its social context and the practical conditions which to some considerable extent predetermine its method. This is especially true of drama, which must depend for success upon an immediate rapport with its audience. The audiences which attended the Greek classic theatre, the Elizabethan theatre, the French salon theatre of the eighteenth century, the Dublin theatre of Synge and O’Casey and the West End theatre of London in the thirties expected a dramatic style and manner of presentation suited to their particular tastes. The shape and dimensions of the arena, of the custom-built theatre or of the salon required different styles of presentation which demanded varying dramatic styles. The approach of the playwright to the creation of an entertainment to serve the occasion of a Miracle Play had obviously to be different from that which is involved in the writing of a play for the social intimacy of an élite group gathered in a salon in a royal palace.